Post-Fukushima preparedness survey shows lack of evacuation sitesMore than 30 percent of municipalities that fall within the government's new disaster preparation zone around nuclear power plants say they have yet to secure sufficient evacuation sites in the event of an atomic accident in their locality, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday.

The survey found that 29 of the 83 municipalities in 20 prefectures, excluding those in Fukushima Prefecture, home to the crippled Fukushima Daiichi complex operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co., which were freshly included in the zone, are not fully prepared for evacuating their residents in such a circumstance.

The study also found that 90 percent of the municipalities have yet to decide how to distribute iodine tablets for protecting the thyroid from radiation exposure, with many citing concerns over possible side effects and problems with storage conditions. [link to english.kyodonews.jp] .